November Air
by LoveBlink182
Summary: Three years later, after the trying dimensional incident, Mr. C and Mr. Vasquez, yet again, have the misfortune of sharing each others' company under freakishly insane circumstances.
1. Chapter 1

AN: My god. I finally got a new computer. A Dell, Dimension 3000. Windows XP. Oh yeah. angels sing from above as light shines down on it Ok. So I know someone requested a sequel to Summer Colors. And for the love of God I hope you guys didn't read my other fan fiction stuff. It's horrible. --; Anyway, I got to thinking about it. And I wasn't sure where to start, but I think I do now… Again, tell me how I'm doing because I never can tell myself.

**_November Air:_**

_Chapter One_: A Chill in the Air:

Johnny lay on his bed, having been there for weeks. It'd been three years, and everyone he'd killed since had haunted him. He didn't even fight sleep so much anymore, even if he did have nightmares. It was an escape from something worse. Something far worse than when he lost Nail Bunny's assistance against the Doughboys.

Thought-control loss.

It was something he'd never had to deal with. Something that tore him apart from the inside, because, like every other element in his life, it was outside the realm of his control. It was really one of the only things he could watch over and monitor, and function the way he wanted it to function.

Maybe that was why he killed. He could control whether people lived or died. Maybe that whole time he was just _saying_ it was them who chose their own fate by being assholes. He didn't know. He didn't want to. He'd claim to not care if he thought it would help. But it never did, and if he told himself he didn't care, he'd just be lying to himself. After all, if he didn't care, he wouldn't spend weeks at a time in his room on his bed, in a puddle of his own saliva and tears, and other people's blood. It didn't even matter that the vile liquid of the human body was saturated all over random parts of his body.

And on top of that, it was freezing. Happy Noodle Boy didn't have the randomness and hilarity and chaos it once possessed, so not many people bought it anymore. And late monthly issues were not good for profits. Not that he cared much. But it was still cold. The heating was turned off a week ago. It wasn't pretty, oh, no. He could see his breath. The dirty snow outside was probably warmer than his house. His water pipes were probably frozen.

His physical state was in worse shape than it'd ever been. Not so much mental, no that didn't really fluctuate much at all. He was still as sick and warped as he'd ever been. But for slightly different reasons. At least before, he could pay bills, and function. At least he ate. At least his beliefs were solid. At least, before, he had something solid. He hated sleep and knew why. He hated assholes and knew why.

But now, all his beliefs, and all his thoughts, and everything he'd ever looked for were beginning to crush him. In every way. Just the other day, he was cutting open an Overdue Payment notice for a bill, and accidentally cut his finger. It didn't even bleed. It disgusted him more than blood itself.

His life had gone careening downhill since "The Incident"...

God, were there even words for…Him?

_No…No there aren't. And I've got to...To…_

He felt his stomach churn in anxiety, in anger. Nothing hurt more than...

He leapt up off the decrepit bed, sending a watery mixture of bloody saliva at the wall, and all over the floor. He ran to the toilet, and, trembling uncontrollably, vomited as much as he could. As much as he had in him, to the point where it hurt, and he felt like he had no more strength for dry heaving and such things.

When his body was finally exhausted, he fell to the side, crumbling to the filthy floor, weakly. He'd forgotten how long it'd been since he'd showered. He didn't want to know what he smelled like. He knew he was encrusted in dirty blood, and other things, he just couldn't muster up the energy to climb into the shower. Much too much exertion was required to bathe. But he'd do it anyway in a moment. After he ceased the exhausting writhing and shivering on the bathroom floor.

Nothing hurt more than vomiting.

In a Distant Place, Far From this Hell, and Closer to its Own

Warm.

Unusually warm.

Cozy.

Comfy.

Way too comfy to be anyplace but in her arms.

He looked down at the dark-haired head on his chest, with one arm around his waist. His own arm wrapped around her shoulder.

_Oh crap. Her roommate is going to kill me!_

With a great amount of willpower, he nudged her slightly.

"Alice," he whispered, "Alice, wake up."

She opened her bleary eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked, as a small surge of fear swept through her body. She looked up to see Jhonen's face, and the fear slightly subsided.

"My couch." he said, "We fell asleep last night watching horror movies."

"Uh oh. Maria's gonna kill me." she said.

"You're a grown woman; she has no right to give you a third degree. We've been together for three years." He said, "I don't care if she hates my guts or not, she has no right intruding on your life."

"Our life." She said, quietly smiling.

"Our life." He repeated, and smiled back.

She leaned up and gave him a small kiss on the lips, and got up. Her clothes were wrinkled, and her hair was a bushy mess, same as his.

She left for the bathroom to wash up a little so he could drop her off at her apartment. He smiled warmly at the spot where she'd been standing a moment before. How he'd begged her to move in with him. She said she'd wait until her roommate, Janice, could get a replacement. In his own opinion, Janice had not been looking very hard. She didn't like Jhonen and didn't try to hide it.

He suddenly got a chill. A dark chill that made him want to vomit in agony.

_What the hell? Maybe I'm getting a cold...?_

He considered the possibility, but then ruled it out as he had no other symptoms. He looked suddenly at a framed picture of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac on the wall.

_This is Southern California. I'm not meant to be cold. Maybe it was just a draft... It is still kind of early. Early morning dew, that's all._

He looked at the clock on the wall. Around 8:00 in the morning. He turned the radio on. It was so loud, for some reason. It scared him at first, but then he lowered it.

"Pardon me while I burst..." he sang along in a low voice, not really in any tune. Just to sing. He'd caught it as it was ending. He smiled as the next song came on.

"...I LIKE MY COFFEE BLACK, JUST LIKE MY METAL!" he sang in a louder voice, "I can't wait for you to shut me up and make me hip like badass..." he even attempted feebly to match the higher octave the lead singer achieved. He loved the song, and directing the video for them. It was insanely fun.

And just like that, the chill was gone and forgotten.

"Jhonen?" she called, and like a flash he was there. Sometimes he questioned how she had him wrapped around her finger so tightly. She wasn't demanding. Low maintenance, she never really asked for anything. Maybe that was it, in and of itself. She requested things so rarely that when she did, he felt a need to provide them for her. No matter.

He'd found this 'love' thing. And, hidden inside of this 'love', was the very connection he'd been craving, and denied, for so many years.

"Do you have a towel?" she asked in her ever-gentle voice. He handed one to her from a laundry basket that was roaming near the door to the bathroom that had yet to be put away.

"Thanks." She said, smiling and closing the door again.

He sat on his bed and changed his clothes. When she came out, she smelled like...

"Mountain Breeze?" he asked out loud.

"Yeah, I found some Fabric Fresh in there. I decided I didn't want to smell like...Someone who slept in their clothes all night." She laughed faintly.

He smiled. "You're so smart. Y'know, you can take a shower if you want." He said.

"No. I don't need to give Janice a reason to give either of us a third degree."

"She already has one. It's getting close to nine." He said, rolling his eyes, "That girl is ridiculous. She needs to mind her own business. She really does."

"Jhonen, please keep your temper. Please." she said.

"...Bu-"

"Please. For me?" she asked with big, mournful eyes. He couldn't say no.

"Alright, jeez." He said, "At least your mother likes me..."

"...Um...Sure...If you believe that..." she snickered and left for the kitchen.

He followed her, buttoning up his shirt.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing."

"C'mon, what do you mean? Does _she_ hate my guts, too?" he asked.

"She just doesn't like your 'devils work' as she calls it."

"What? Like Johnny and Invader Zim?" he asked.

"Mostly Johnny."

"She read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac?" he asked, in disbelief.

"No, she wouldn't when I presented her with it." She answered, "Going back to how it's the 'devils work', she wouldn't even pick it up."

"Oooh. Ok. So she's bias?"

"You could say that, yeah. And religious."

"Nice. Great." He said, "Just wonderful."

She laughed.

He smiled as he watched her.

"What?" she asked, handing him a cup of coffee.

"I just love the way you laugh, is all." He said, and kissed her, and leaned back against the counter, sipping his coffee.

She leaned on his body, and asked "Are we meeting in Juanita's Café later?"

"Yes. I want to take you someplace special from there."

"Oooh, where?" she asked, anticipation and excitement coming alive in her chocolate eyes.

"It's a secret..." he said, mysteriously, and sipped more coffee.

"Well fine, if you're gonna be that way about it..." she said, playfully.

She kissed his chin, not quite tall enough to reach his lips, as she was shorter than anything.

"I love you." He whispered, almost inaudibly, but still, just loud enough for her ears to catch it.

"I love you, too." Alice said.

AN: Ok, too much? Not enough? TELL ME OF MY SINS, oh mighty reviewers. And to those of you who don't believe in sequels: **_No story ever truly has an ending...Just new beginnings..._**


	2. That HorrorFilm Feeling

AN: Mi hermano, Robbie, made a story about that infernal Grand Theft Auto game. San Andreas. It's a Dawn of the Dead parody or something. Not sure. But he can't have an account (MOM SEZ!) and so he posted it on mine because like an idiot I chose to keep myself logged in for 3 days. And he had the worst time trying to upload it. HA! That's what he gets! Evil thing that he is. Anyway, I'm sick to my stomach with whether I have the ability to make this as good a Summer Colors. It's supposed to have a slightly sadder tone, but I suppose it will pick up later on. I didn't know how badly everyone would react to Jhonen loving someone. God. You guys must hate his guts or something. It just seems like you want him to suffer. (I heard from a review in Summer Colors that it's said he's a jerk. I don't think it's very true. But then again, I've never had the pleasure of knowing him in private. I suppose it would be quite something. Oh yeah. Mr. Vasquez owns Johnny and all Johnny-related subject matter, and he owns himself. We hope, anyway.) I don't know. I make it up as I go along. I didn't even have a plot when I picked out the title. He he. AHHH...choo... Oh, and by the way, I have a new SN for aim. JoeyRamonesGrl. I'm usually on. Feel free to IM me.

**_November Air:_**

_Chapter Two:_ That Horror-Film Feeling:

As he climbed out of the shower, he stumbled. His sides and muscles ached. He pulled on some relatively clean clothes, and a jacket. Walking outside, he could see his breath. He'd been wrong. His house was slightly warmer than the freezing night air.

But not by much.

He started his car, and drove to his cliff.

_Maybe if I jumped off..._ He thought briefly, but lost it. In a flash it was gone. Like a thought he couldn't remember thinking or how it came into his head. That irked him.

A rustle in the bushes sounded behind him, and he turned around. Not that he cared. Whoever was back there would meet an untimely end. After all...He was, still, quite horrendously insane...

Devi waltzed out of the bushes. An almost smug look rested on her face.

_God...What could she want? Did she know I was up here?_

"Hey," she said, softly, "I saw you turn your headlights off. So I figured I'd come see how you were doing. I saw Squee, and he said you hadn't come out of your house in almost a month."

"He keeps track?" he said, his voice raspy and weak. The vomiting earlier had something to do with it, he suspected. It could also be that he had no one to talk to anymore. Nail Bunny was gone. The Doughboys were gone. He wondered...Just maybe...

_Maybe Jhonen tried to fix me after he went home...Or, after Kaz, he tried to...Maybe he actually tried to make my life worse. Perhaps punish me or something of the like._

But no. Maybe Jhonen was ignoring him completely now. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe this time, he'd done it to himself.

No.

No.

That was impossible. That fucking maggot controlled everything that went on in his life. Maybe he really was ignoring him, and his world was crumbling.

"I hate him." He muttered.

"What'd Squee ever do to you?" she asked, always keeping at least three feet between them.

"Nothing...Nothing. Don't worry about it. Not Squee. You've but to look at him to feel a certain affection for him. No one could ever truly hate such an innocent thing, like Todd." He said, distantly.

She thought he could be pondering his own innocence.

_God knows I should be questioning my own. The things I've done. Heinous acts committed with the feeblest of excuses. Insanity isn't a good enough defense if I were ever to be arrested and charged for the murder of countless 'innocent' people. God...Sometimes I hate myself._

"I just wanted to know if you were alright. I mean, I don't know why, after all, you did-"He cut her off.

"Try to kill you, yeah. I know. Sorry about that. I was going through a rough patch, I guess. Will you ever let it rest?"

"What kind of rough patch leads you to the murder of dozens!"

"More like hundreds." Johnny corrected, not even thinking, "No patch as rough as the one I seem to be in at the moment. Filled with jagged rocks, and pitted with steep craters. It's absolutely revolting. Like a teenagers face."

She smiled. "Ok. You work through whatever it is you need to work through." She said, and backed away, not taking her eyes off him until she was far enough away to run. She didn't think he'd come after her. He was in his zone. But still. Take no chances.

_She fears me. Jhonen didn't fear me. He jumped directly on my back while I had 'that look', as he calls it. God. This is insane. Ooh, wouldja look at that. I've finally caught up with myself. I wonder if I'll ever see him again. I wonder if he still has all those little peeves and ticks that he had before..._

Of course he did, Johnny knew. He smiled to himself. Who the hell had to molest you as a child to achieve the level of warped Jhonen was? Is? Who knew what tense to use. It was Jhonen Vasquez.

_I don't think he knew what he had. Or maybe he did. Most people would kill to have his life. To just have something to worry about. Something. A job. A family member. Something worth the time and energy to care about. He's just happy to be alive. Not grateful for a damned thing else. To him, the rest is just icing on the cake of Life._

This thought burned Johnny. Nny would rather be dead. The city was so beautiful. It was snowing. Gently. The flakes of snow glowed in the moonlight. It seemed to be a cloudless night, as though the flakes were falling from nowhere.

He thought of just laying back and letting them cover him, just enough for him to freeze to death. Indirect suicide.

Instead, he stared out into the gray horizon.

"_**...Up and away from this room, and this bed, and the oppressive inevitability of sleep..."**_

He ran a hand through his unnaturally colored hair. What was with that chill earlier?

It was so hauntingly familiar.

Haunting...

No. It couldn't be. He'd done what was intended for him to do. He didn't want to deal with it. Suddenly, he felt the need to get out a pen. And paper. And draw. Anything at all. Stereo blasting, just draw anything. Let his hand do the talking.

Alice could wait. This was slightly more important.

Was it?

Maybe the things he intended to do balanced each other out.

He glanced at the small velvet box he'd put on the dresser. In it contained 24 karats of gold and diamond. A mere proclamation of his 'love'.

_So you finally found it._

Suddenly a foul feeling entered his stomach. A lump of anxiety, and fear. His arms felt like he touched a wet hairdryer. He knew it was adrenaline pumping through his veins. His hand, though shaky, continued to draw, but his eyes were only seeing white. He recognized that voice. He didn't want to answer it. But he knew if he didn't say something that it would taunt him and co hearse him into an argument by some means.

_...What's going on?_

_You finally found your ever-needed connection._

_You led me to it._

_I know. Planning on asking her to marry you, Jhonen? Very uncharacteristic of you, is this deed. This action, no, no, not like you at all. Is it? What happened to you, Jhonen? Is this the end? Do you honestly think if you marry her, your need for psychiatric assistance will go away?_

_What the hell is this? Years ago you were pestering me to 'come out of my shell' and feel something for someone. I did. I found Alice Leben. Soon to be Alice Vasquez. Get off my back._

_Are you doing this because you really think you love her? Do you have faith that she might love you as well?_

_Shut up! This is something I know is solid._

_Sure about that, aren't you?_

_No._

_No what? You're not sure?_

_No, I'm not going to let you._

_Let me what? You're making no sense again, Jhonen._

_You're not going to defile the only real, pure thing I've ever had._

_Don't give me so much credit. I just ask the questions. You determine the answers. It's kind of like that 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people' theory._

_Don't talk to me._

_Aw, shucks. I feel sad now._

_Quit it. I mean it. Knock it off._

_You're going to be late to a serious engagement...Pun intended._

This was making him sick. God sucked.

_Stop it! STOP! I can't do that to her!_

He couldn't move his hands, he couldn't see. He couldn't do anything. But he had to. The thought of Alice sitting alone in that café, angry with him for his tardiness was...

Actually kind of amusing.

But still upsetting. He couldn't just explain it away on traffic. He had to do something. He didn't know what was happening to him; he had to force himself out of this.

"No..." he whispered, and tried desperately to regain control of his hand and vision. It felt like he was encased in something. He pulled his thin frame back with all his might. He fell out of his chair. His hand had cramp and he could finally see again. He looked at the paper. It was Johnny. Lying on the floor of a bathroom. It looked like he was shivering or convulsing or something.

_You have a connection to Johnny that you'll never break. Johnny was written on such an intimate, personal level that you can't ignore his pain. Even if you're not directly aware of it._

This couldn't be true. Not on any scale. Johnny was a monster. Not Jhonen.

_Did you trick yourself into thinking you could be in love?_

Jhonen tried to block him out. Effectively, it seemed, as the 'guardian' stopped talking. Something bothered him other than the event that just occurred. That voice...It was familiar. But in an interesting way. It wasn't the voice of his 'guardian'...At least he didn't think. Memories from long ago buzzed through his mind, his brain trying desperately trying to pull forth the memories of three years earlier.

Three year. God, it seemed so long ago. Had it only been three years? Only three?

He was beginning to wish he'd never created Johnny. Some people who read it were so small-minded, that they didn't even comprehend what they were reading. And then some people watched Invader Zim and had Zim and Dib falling in love. It made his stomach ill. Oh, so very ill, indeed.

"And to think, I considered making another Johnny series..." he muttered, grabbing the velvet box and walked out of the house.

AN: My sibling just confused me. I don't think he knows what he's talking about, but I gotta ask anyway. I was under the impression that Mr. Vasquez was Mexican. My brother just walked in and laughed in my face, saying that was just a running joke, And now I suffer in the deep black abyss of my own confusion. And sometimes, that can be a really, REALLY big abyss. Clear this up for me. Someone. In the meantime I shall try to find some interview or biography that gives me more than his DOB and high school of graduation. sigh I've got to wise up. I'm way too easily confused.


	3. Techno Tetris

AN: I thought he was Mexican. There are way too many references to his heritage for it to be just a running joke. I thought the comment in the Road Kill Diaries with the old guy at the caves was just a joke. And yes, in case you were wondering, I am constantly in a haze of inability to decipher a joke from a factual statement. Bah. Anyway, feel free to give me advice on this. Just remember that this is a sequel. My god, I just got the biggest urge to rewrite this whole story. It sucks that much...Wow...Depressing thought...Ok. Mr. Vasquez is getting old. Quite literally, old. He's like...close to 32. Scary...Wow...32 years is a long time to be on Earth. I wonder if he gets scared...I read way too much into old age. lol just read the story.

**_November Air:_**

_Chapter Three: Techno Tetris:_

"Ugh, God! What the hell? What is this?" he said in reference to the music on the radio after picking Alice up.

She was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. One of the ever-wonderful songs by Serena Paris was blasting away in its entire techno-y splendor.

"_Look at us baby, look at us now..."_ Alice mock-sang along, "Why is this whole song the exact same line fifty billion times over? This is ridiculous."

"I know, but it's the best of three, and I'm not listening to Country." He said, raising his eyebrow. She laughed as they pulled into a secluded road.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as they drove slowly down the winding road.

"Somewhere." He said. She rolled her eyes at his vague answer. Ever-vague and sarcastic, but ever wonderful at the same time. She really did love him. But...There were times.

Like that one time...She walked into his room to ask him what he wanted on his sandwich, and he was sitting on the edge in the dark, just a crack of California light coming through the curtains on his face, hunched over, elbows on knees, staring intensely at the floor.

"Jhonen?" she had asked. No answer. "Jhonen? Are you ok?" She had asked a second time, and walked over to him.

"Go away..." He said, almost in a whisper. He had swallowed, and stood, and walked into the bathroom. She didn't know what he was doing, but she knew he wasn't right somehow.

Those times made her worry. She didn't know what exactly went through his head sometimes. And she knew she was better off not knowing. The mess he looked of that day she first met him... God. Like...Like he went walking through South Central...Screaming 'fuck you' to everyone.

She figured times like these were the product of years of living a solitary life. She knew he was no virgin, but they were just pretty skirts. After all, he was only human. But no real feeling for any of those girls but lust. This situation probably got lonely from time to time. She got the hunch that dealing with all of the emotions that centered around her could be overwhelming at times. But today, he seemed fine. Just fine. Actually, a little more patience than usual. Serena Paris would have been shut off a while ago. A song which was just ending.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was thrown about. Their serene road became bumpy.

"Where..." she began, but quieted when she saw the sight.

He'd taken her to the ocean. Breezy, and beautiful. Sunny for the most part, but just enough clouds to make it beautiful.

And they did. "I thought you'd like it." He said, and unbuckled and got out of the car, "C'mon. I want to take you to the lighthouse."

"...Jhonen."

"Yes?"

"The lighthouse is on an island."

"I know the people who own the island. My mom-" He stopped suddenly.

"What?" she asked, interested. He never talked about his mom.

"I used to 'play' there sometimes when I was little." He said. She wondered about the way he said the word play. Like it might not have really been playing.

"Jhonen?" she asked softly as they walked towards the dock.

"Yeah?" he asked, casually.

"Why don't you ever talk about your family?" she studied the look on his face, absorbing it, and trying to guess what he was thinking.

"Why do you want to know?" he said after a moment. Something strange about that...

She couldn't place his tone.

"I said why do you want to know?" He asked again, just slightly more forcefully. He stared straight ahead of him as he

"I was just wondering." She said.

"Why?" he asked.

"You rarely, if ever, talk about any family. I was just curious." She said, "But now that you seem to be so defensive about it, I think I shall intrude further into your thoughts."

"I'd really rather you not." He said.

"But I want to kn-"

"No. You don't." he said, and quickened the pace to the end of the dock.

"Jhonen! Why are you acting like thi-"

He stopped dead in his tracks, and glared at her out of the corner of his eye. She quieted, and looked away.

"...Alice. Listen to me: You don't need to know. My childhood was fine," he said, and swallowed the obvious discomfort towards the subject, and continued, "Think of it as classified government UFO files. I will tell you when you need to know."

"Haven't you seen Independence Day? By the time the president found out about Area 51, it was too late."

"No. Humanity won in the end. They learned the hard way how to band together. Just trust me." He said.

"If that's a metaphor for us, then I suggest you explain it better because the way I'm getting it is that you want us to get closer the hard way!" she said, her eyebrows furrowing.

He hated that look. Scratch that. He despised that look. It just didn't suit her.

"Alice! I just don't think it's fair that you're pushing me on this! Not everybody's childhood is filled with a big mini-mansion and cookies from granny!" he yelled.

She let go of his hand, looking shocked. He instantly regretted his words, and his tone.

"...Jhonen. Take me home." She said.

He felt like he'd gotten stabbed in the chest. That hurt. She didn't even yell. She simply stated, and looked down.

"...Alice. Please. I didn't mean that. I know you didn't have a pretty childhood either, ok." He said, and tried to take her hand again. He was going to do this if it killed him.

"I don't want to do it the hard way. And I didn't mean to pry. I was just concerned about you." She said, and began to walk down the dock alone.

He followed her.

_Oh, God! Why today? Why did our first major argument have to be today! Right now, of all times! Why would I say something like that? But still...Why would she pry? What're her real intentions in prying in my private life? My past is none of her concern! It doesn't affect us now, and I don't think it will...I hope not, anyway..._

"Alice, please," he said, "Don't walk away from me. I hate that." He said, almost in a whisper.

She stopped, and he slowly caught up with her.

"Don't yell at me, Jhonen. I'm not a dog. I'm your girlfriend. Yes, you have to share your life with someone else. I love you, and you know that. It's no longer all about you and how you feel. Someone else has feelings, too." She said, looked away.

He took her hand. "I know, I know. Don't take that 'you're selfish' tone with me, and I won't yell at you. It's just...I just...I don't know. I just don't like to talk about it." He said, and put a finger under her chin, and made her face him, "I love you. You should know that. I just have..." he trailed off, but then chose different words, "My problems, in every sense of the word, aren't completely resolved. I have to sort it out. I only became aware of them a few years ago. Three to be precise." He said, smirking. She smirked back.

"Alright," she said, "Forgive me?"

"Of course. Like I could stay angry with you if I wanted to, anyway. Forgive me?"

"Hmm..." she teased.

"Hey!" he said in a play voice.

"Of course, silly." She said and gave him a peck on the lips.

"That doesn't exactly do it for me, but I'll take it." He said, smiling.

"Be grateful." She said.

"Grateful? You're the one who begs for it."

"What! You're insane! I'm not the one who pleads and pleads for kisses on an hourly basis." She joked.

"We're here." He said and looked at a row boat tied to the post.

"...We have to get in a rowboat?" she asked.

"Yes. I'm going to row us out to the light house."

"Ok. Won't it be dark when we get there, though? In just a rowboat?"

"That's the point." He said, hoping she wouldn't catch on, but knew she was smart enough to pick up if she really sought an answer.

Johnny walked into a 24/7 and made eye contact with the clerk.

"Hey, kid. It's close to three. What are you doin' out so late?" he asked.

His mild and polite concern for Johnny almost knocked him backwards. Johnny stared wide-eyed.

"...I, um...Thank you for your random concern, sir. But I am no child." Johnny said, hoarsely, making his way to the Brain-Freezy machine in the back of the store. He filled a cup, and went back up front to the counter.

Spiritlessly, he poked the straw in the opening and put a five on the counter. The clerk extended a hand of change, but then pulled back. Johnny looked up, mild question in his eyes.

"Listen, I'm not supposed to do this, but you look like you've had a really, really rough night. Your drink is on the house." He said, giving Johnny a kind smile.

He didn't know what to say. Running a gloved hand through his hair, he looked around nervously.

"Um, thank you, sir. I guess..." he said, and walked towards the door. The store still felt cold, so the spark of warmth this man had shown felt...awkward. Strange. As though it weren't supposed to be. Nny wondered if the man could feel the awkwardness of it all, too. But no, probably not, as the man worked here, it was probably like home to him. It wouldn't bother him like it bothered Johnny.

"No prob, just remember, I never did this, ok?" he said, chuckling slightly with a half-smile.

_At any rate, that was a nice gesture. I must remember this man._ Johnny thought to himself.

"Move out of the way, fuck-bag." Some burly, portly woman said in a smokers-voice.

Johnny shivered. He hated people. He always had.

He should stop thinking that there's nothing to live for. He needed to stop breaking down, stop crying. Stop killing. Devi still cared about him. She proved that coming up to the cliff to talk to him. At least she was coming outside now.

"Yo, Dr. Doom," a group of people screamed as he passed a small café. Not the one he usually had problems with. But still.

_People make jokes...Because they don't understand me._

It didn't matter whether they understood him or not. He needed to stop watching the world pass him by, stop letting these people keep him from what he wanted.

_Why am I here? Am I just wasting my time? These are the answers I should've let Senior Diablo tell me! How did Jhonen get it? How did he find a way out of his little pit of loneliness? Ugh. I really thought that guy wouldn't be able to find his way out of that little world of delusional fakeness._

He'd seen that happen to people before...

A sudden flashback led him to remembering his friend Phlegm...

Shaking it off, he pulled his coat a little tighter around him. Memories of Phlegm and his personality swing from so many years ago, before he went crazy, before he even nailed Nail Bunny to the post. He couldn't even remember...Remember when he moved into that house...Just remembered when Phlegm started coming around. How he murdered him.

He remembered why he hated guns.

He found himself standing on the sidewalk, staring at his house.

He decided to make a Noodle Boy comic. A good one. A funny one.

The ones he used to make.

And it'd be good.

And then they'd turn his heat and lights back on, and he'd make them available to more than just the homeless insane.


	4. I Could Never Get Out Of Here

AN: Hey, I said close to 32...I was only 2 years off. Anyway, here's the next chapter. This sucks. I hate this story. Now watch me make a feeble attempt to revive it. sigh And to anyone who got confused when it switched from Jhonen and Alice to Johnny, I am sorry. I didn't mean for that. My fault, entirely, as I forgot to separate them. As always, please, give me some advice here. I'm dying. On with the show...

**_November Air:_**

_Chapter Four: I Could Never Get Out Of Here:_

Finally reaching the light house, it was dusk. Jhonen got out of the row boat first, and helped Alice out. She helped him pull the boat up on the sand, and they dusted their hands off.

"C'mon, we're gonna go to the top, but first; we have to see Mr. and Mrs. Marks. They're good people. I haven't seen them in years, though. I hope they remember me." He said, looking at her.

She snickered. "Are you nervous?" she asked.

"...Shut up." He said, and grabbed her hand, "These people practically raised me."

Alice figured this was the closest she'd ever come to meeting any kind of relative of Jhonen's. It made her feel kind of honored, actually.

Walking up the small walkway, she looked around. This place was gorgeous. The sunlight was hitting the clouds at such an angle, that it seemed as though there were beams of light streaking down from the gods. This little island, this small cottage looking house, white with red trim to match the lighthouse itself...The gardens, the seagulls, the sparkling ocean...

It all felt like a scene from a movie.

Jhonen knocked on the door, his hand trembling slightly. These people must be very important to him.

"_They practically raised me..."_ this sentence rang through her head. However, she was pulled from her thoughts by a sweet-looking, elderly man answering the door.

He was short, compared to Jhonen, and wrinkles, laugh lines proved his probably very sweet, sunny disposition. By the looks of him, he'd most likely grown up in California. A plaid short-sleeved shirt, tan shorts to match, and sandals.

"...May I help you?" he asked, squinting. A pair of thick glasses hung around his neck.

"Put your glasses on, Mr. Marks. It's me; Jhonen."

The small man opened the door all the way, and fumbled around, putting his glasses on his face, and disrupting the gray, thin hair on the sides of his head.

"Sweet Mary and Joseph! Devina! Devina, come quick!" he shouted into the house.

An elderly woman came to the door, as thin as her husband, wiping her hands on her apron.

"What is it, John?" she said, sounding worried and annoyed. Her hair was curly, and long, and gray, pulled back, with wisps falling in her face. She wore an old fashioned triangle dress with homemade variations. She'd cut the sleeves and neck line out, to make it a tank top. She also wore sandals. Earrings and a necklace and wedding ring decorated her. Putting a less thick, more feminine pair of glasses on, she gasped.

"...Jhonen? Jo-Jo Vasquez?" she said, clapping her hands together, "Oh, my! What a wonderful surprise! Come in, come in out of the heat, darling. And who is this?" she said.

"This is my girlfriend, Alice Leben. Mrs. Marks, it's so good to see you." He said, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He turned around and gave Mr. Marks a hug.

"Jo-Jo, my boy. I haven't seen you in so many years."

"Hehe...Jo-Jo?" Alice asked, smirking.

"Ahhh, yes. He couldn't say 'Jhonen' when he was little, so he's just say Jo-Jo."

For all the color Jhonen lacked, he turned bright red.

"Come sit in the sun room. We'll give you some popsicles." He said, "Cherry, Jhonen?"

"Um, yes. Blue raspberry for Alice, though."

"Can do." Mrs. Marks said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

"So how long have the two of you been together?" Mr. Marks asked, taking a seat in an arm chair across from Jhonen.

"For three years." Alice answered, "How long have you and Mrs. Marks been married?"

"Oh, sweetheart, call us Johnny and Devi," he said, laughing, and leaned forward, "And I can't for the life of me figure out why Jo-Jo here called us Mr. and Mrs. Marks. And we've been married for 62 years."

It clicked.

"Johnny and Devi, huh?" she smiled, and looked at Jhonen, who refused to meet her gaze.

"My yes," Devina said, walking in with a red Popsicle, a blue Popsicle, and two grape popsicles in one bowl, "My mother named me Devina. It was Jo-Jo's mother over there that started calling me Devi in school. She was a year or two younger than me, a freshman in high school, and I was a junior, and she threatened to beat up anyone who dared to mess around with her. And she did."

Devina placed the bowl on a small wooden table in front of them, and took out the two purple ones, and gave one to John.

"Or, sweetie, you could call us Devi and John. Or Devina and John. Or Johnny and Devina. O-"

"Alright, dear, that's enough." He said, smiling, "You're rambling."

"Oh, hush." She said.

Alice smiled. She hoped that this was how Jhonen grew up...But somehow she doubted it.

"After this, I'm gonna take her to see the lighthouse."

Devina almost choked. She and John exchanged glances.

"It's not how it was before, dear." Devina said.

Jhonen looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes begging her not to release his secrets.

"After you left we cleared the stuff out. Only the stuff that was attached to the walls stayed." Johnny explained.

"Oh. Well, that stuff doesn't matter." He said, finishing his Popsicle, "We came for the sunset, anyway." He said.

John raised an eyebrow, knowing.

"We'll come back after."

"You two want a blanket? It gets kind of cold up there," Devina said, handing them a thick, fluffy blanket.

"Thanks. See you guys later." He said, smiling.

"Bye." Alice said, smiling, and waving over her shoulder, and they walked outside, and went to the lighthouse.

"So, what? They babysat you for your mom?" she asked.

"...Something like that." He said, as they walked up the spiral steps, "I wish they would put a railing in here."

She smiled up at him, hoping he wouldn't look over his shoulder and catch her staring. She loved him so much.

"Ok, we're here." He opened the door to a room at the top of the light house. The light was in, twirling around, slowly. He knew it would go on in about a half an hour.

"C'mon..." he said, and walked out onto the balcony with her by the hand. He fluffed the blanket up and put it on the floor beside them, but they remained standing.

"Look." He said pointing out into the sunset.

Her breath caught in her throat. It was so gorgeous. The water was sparkling like thousands of bright orange diamonds.

"Jhonen...This is amazing." She said, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He pulled her arms away from him, and stepped back. She looked at him, her eyes filled with question.

"...Alice...We've been together for a while. And..."

* * *

Johnny felt a sharp pain in his chest. Muting the TV, he waited for it to subside. Could his heart be giving out from lack of nutrition?

No...

No. This was different.

"Jhonen." He hissed, hatefully.

* * *

"...I love you so much. I'm _in_ love with you, deeply. And I know we have some stuff to work out and everything, I know we don't have the most normal relationship like most couples, but..." he dropped to his knees, and reached in his pocket for the small velvet box.

She could hardly comprehend what was happening.

"Miss Alice Leben, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box.

She held on to the railing for support. His eyes were big, and open. They both knew full well he was exposing a part of himself to her that no one in the world had ever seen.

"...I...I...I don't know...What to say to this..."

He swallowed hard, "Um, you could make me a very happy guy, and say yes?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

She laughed, and tackled him, smothering him in kisses. "Of course I will!" She screamed.

* * *

It was fiery now. Burning his whole soul, enveloping him in flames. He had to release the pressure. He had to get rid of it, the only way he knew how.

A young girl, in her mid teens, was trembling in the corner of a room in Nny's basement. Her shaking increased exponentially upon hearing his footsteps coming closer to her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to see Nny's form hovering over her, shaking with angry pain. He had a butcher knife in his hand. He couldn't even remember why he took her.

No.

He remembered perfectly...

She looks like _her..._

Like that bitch that changed his life.

Kaz.

"FUCK!" he screamed in her face repeatedly.

* * *

Jhonen slipped the ring on her finger. He kissed her. "I love you so much." He whispered. She smiled, and kissed him back. His fingers traveled over her body.

* * *

"FUCK HIM! Fuck him! I fucking hate him! He needs to fucking DIE!" Nny screamed in the girls face.

"Hey, man, I'm sorry your boyfriend made you angry. You guys can work it out, I'll even help you! Just let me go! Let me live, and I'll help get you two back together, I swear."

"I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS!"

* * *

Heavy breathing, thrusting. Toes curled. Muscles clenched.

* * *

After hours of the girl crying, he felt something snap. All the muscles in his body trembled and clenched. He had to.

He had to.

He drew his arm back, and chopped down.

"Ugh! Jhonen! Uhh! Ahhhhh..."

* * *

"HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The girl shrieked until her voice cracked with each blow. When Johnny was finished, she was nothing more than minced pulp.

* * *

Jhonen panted, trying to catch his breath. "That was...amazing." he said, rolling off of her.

"I love you." She said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey..." he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Yes?" she asked.

"You wanna put your ring back in the box so it doesn't get lost, and go swimming?"

"You actually want to swim after that?" she asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I want to cool off." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Most guys have no energy for anything."

"I'm not most guys." He said, smiling and sitting up.

"I can't argue with that." She said, and put the ring in the box and followed him.

"Jhonen! I'm in my-"

"I know! So am I! We're not going in the streets are we? We can walk around in our underwear." He said and they walked around to the beach part of the island.

"The waves here are so cool. It's so much fun. At night, too. I'll ask Devina and John to light the torches and keep an eye on us."

"Keep an eye on us?"

"Sharks."

"...That's encouraging." She said, wading into the water with Jhonen.


	5. Bohemia

AN: Thanks for the reviews. Here's another chapter. And I wouldn't be surprised if there really was Jhonen porn lol. There're enough people who'd love to get in his pants. And my computer just corrected my English. I hate that. I feel like my English teacher is standing over my shoulder. But at the same time, it's easier to read. So whatever.

**_November Air:_**

_Chapter Five: Bohemia:_

Johnny couldn't even breathe. He lay, exhausted, in a pool of this girl's blood.

"This is so pathetic." He whispered. He couldn't feel his extremities. There was only one answer.

Jhonen. Jhonen Vasquez was his only tie. The whole thing started with Jhonen. It had to end with Jhonen, too. There was something happening.

He hadn't slept in days. Slowly, he made his way to the first floor. The ground floor. Then to the back of the house, the bed. The dusty, disgusting bed that he never slept in. He pushed the dirty pillow to the floor. And the sheets and blankets, torn and filthy. He flopped on his side. And slept.

* * *

"Thanks for letting us stay the night," Jhonen said, giving John and Devina kisses goodbye. Alice gave them hugs.

"Let's go." He said. It was early. Seagulls were circling around. Alice insisted on helping him paddle.

They finally got back to the dock, he helped her out and tied the boat back up, and they headed for his car, holding hands the entire way, her ring sparkling in the morning light.

"Janice is gonna hate me," she said, snickering evilly.

"Yeah. Speaking of Janice..." he said, knowing she'd know what he was referring to.

"I know, I know. Believe me. There's nothing I'd love more than to go home right now and pack and leave for your place, but I can't."

"...Could you find someone to take your place? Like...A homeless guy? Someone? ANYONE? PLEEEAAAASE!" he said, mock-begging.

"Jhonen, please...I could ask my sister. She wants to get out of her ratty apartment. Rent isn't due for three weeks, she could be in tomorrow, and I could leave for your place tonight!" she said, smiling.

He smiled, kissed her, and got honked at by the guy behind them for swerving. The man in the car stuck his head out the window and shook his fist.

"HEY! Hey! You wanna get somebody killed, you fuck!" he screamed.

Alice looked behind her and snickered. "That guy looks pissed."

"Ya think?" Jhonen asked, sarcastically.

"Hehe. We should drive really, really slow just to make him angrier."

"Alice! That's so fucked up!" Jhonen laughed.

"And?"

"No! I'm not gonna...Ok. Ok." He laughed, slowing the car to what seemed like 3 miles per hour.

"HEY!" The man screamed, "You fucker! I'll fucking drive this into the back of your car!"

Jhonen rolled down his window, and yelled, "NICE TO MEET YOU TOO!"

Pushing the gas petal all the way to the floor, he went as fast as he could, going around cars and in between them.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU! WHERE ARE WE GOING?" Alice screamed.

"To your sisters. To tell her and show her the apartment."

"Ahhh. Ok. How do you know where she lives?"

"Didn't you once say you had a sister on the west side?"

"Oh, yeah. I'll tell you where to go after this exit."

"Ok."

They went through, around, down streets, in between cars, until they pulled up in front of a house.

"Where are we? This is one of the worst slums I've ever been in...And I've been in some nasty slums."

"This is where I grew up."

"Oooh. Do I get to meet your parents, finally?"

"...It's inevitable. My sister, Sin, lives in the basement. Unless you wanna stay in the car."

"No. I'd love to meet your parents."

She swallowed a ball of anxiety that had been forming in her throat. This wasn't going to be pretty. Her parents weren't the nicest people, and would have only mean things to spout to him.

"Be prepared. My parents are kind of...Mean. Not even mean. Really, really burned out and cruel. They're so warped. Please, don't be offended by anything they say, if they're still alive." She said, her hand going to her mouth as she stared off into space in worry.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about."

She looked up, "...I'll be ok."

"Then let's get this over with." he said, sounding as confident as he could.

"...Alright."

* * *

Johnny tossed, and turned. There were words ringing through his head. To a tune. A song. Something was wrong with him. He had to say the words for some reason. He felt like he'd never wake up if he didn't.

"Late summer evenings, I painted a scene...Of the mountains afar, and the color of..."

He was sweating. There was something wrong. Something...Something.

"SCREAMS!" he yelled, snapping upright.

"Took you long enough." A voice said.

"Who are you?" Johnny hissed. It'd been so long since he'd heard a voice in his head that the thought of having a conversation with a voice almost surprised him. Almost.

"I'm the voice of reason, here."

"The voice of reason?"

"Yes."

"Um...No. I'm good. My voice of reason mysteriously disappeared a long time ago." Nny said out loud.

No more talking.

_That makes me suspicious...All the voices that I've had, none of them have been that easy to shut up before._

Looking around, he realized he wasn't some place he recognized. But it was completely dark. Completely. Totally. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. So he remained still. No use trying to move around if you can't see where you're going.


	6. A Different Perspective

AN: Something in my house is beeping. It's driving me insane. And I didn't put Johnny in this chapter because I felt it just wouldn't fit anywhere. This story is supposed to be about Johnny and Jhonen's separate lives after the encounter. I think I'll be tying up the loose ends and finishing it with a grand finale soon, I hope.

_**November Air**_

_Chapter Six_: _A Different Perspective:_

Jhonen walked into the house with Alice. A painfully thin, sickly looking man in his sixties sat on a wooden chair staring at a TV that wasn't on. He had dark circles around his eyes, like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Dad?" Alice asked gently. The man twitched, and fell to the side. He twitched again, and shot straight up like lightning.

"...Sin?" he asked, bleary eyed. His eyes were an electric yellow color, and blood shot.

"No, it's me. Alice."

"Oh. We thought you were dead." He said, rubbing his eyes.

"Dead? Why would I be dead?" she asked, glancing around for her mother.

"We thought that guy killed you." He stumbled to get up. Swaying a bit, he walked over to her, and squinted.

Jhonen was overwhelmed at the smell of marijuana that seemed to invade the house, among other things. The man Alice called 'Dad' reeked of alcohol, cigarettes, and weed.

"What guy?" she asked, "Mike?"

"I don't know what his name was. I just know he used to smack you around. Heh. What ever happened to that guy?" the man asked in a raspy voice.

"Yeah...Mike. He overdosed on some chemicals."

"Aw, man, he died?" a more feminine voice came from the kitchen. Alice's mother came into the living room and stood by the man.

"No. But he might as well be dead." She said.

"...What the fuck." She said.

Alice swallowed. "W...What?"

"When the fuck did you get here?" she asked, just realizing that Alice hadn't been in the house five minutes ago.

"I stopped by to talk to Sin." She said.

Her mother laughed. "You stupid whore. Who the fuck cares about Sin? She lives in the basement. She's not allowed out."

"...Mom...She's twenty two."

"Speaking of which, where the fuck have you been? You're grounded! You're only sixteen!"

"Mom, listen. Please, try to bring yourself back to now! I'm twenty seven! Wake up!"

"Abby, shut the fuck up. Look at this guy." Her father said, laughing.

"Who the fuck is he? He looks too much older than you."

"He's 31, he's my fiancé, his name is Jhonen." She said, blushing at her use of words.

"FIANCE! Fiancé? This fucking spic is your fiancé? You fucking slut! I'll kill you!" he screamed, and pulled his hand back to smack her across the face. As it was coming down, Jhonen caught it.

"I don't think so." He said in a low voice. Being much taller than her father, and much heavier in comparison (Jhonen shuddered to think how thin the man must actually be if this man made him look like a body-builder), the man backed off.

"You nasty fucker. You and your tainted fucking cum inside our daughter!"

"Why should you care? You thought she was dead. You don't seem to care much at all." He said, advancing on the man, tightening his grip on her father's wrist.

"Jhonen, please. I just want to get Sin and get out of here." Alice said.

"I can see why. Let's go." He said, letting go of her fathers arm and took Alice's gently. Her mother spat in Jhonen's face. He wiped it off with his sleeve. "That was very low class."

"Low class treatment for a greasy, low class spic like you." Her mom said, and flopped back on the couch, her father mimicking her.

Alice led the way to the basement door, and opened it. Climbing the stairs down, Jhonen close behind her.

"I'm so sorry they treated you like that..." she whispered. Her voice betrayed her. It was obvious she was holding back tears.

"Don't worry about it. Though I can't say I've ever experienced racial adversity in any real form. People like that crawl all over this planet. Take it from where it's coming from." He said.

"You're so patient. I love you so much." She said, and kissed the back of his hand.

"Sin? Sin, are you down here?" she called.

"...Mom?" a weak voice called.

"...SIN!" Alice ran to her side. A rubber strip was tied around her arm.

"Hey, man...Alice. I haven't seen you in years." She said, smiling. She looked like a scum bag. This was not the sister that Alice grew up with, that Alice loved. This was not her sister.

"C'mon...Let's get you to a hospital."

"Nah, man, nah. I gotta go to work in a few..." she said, rubbing her eyes. She removed the strip and rubbed her eyes again, and stood up, wobbly on her own feet.

"...What happened to you?" Alice asked, tears streaking her face.

"Nothing, man. Nothing happened. I'm fine."

"Listen to my words. You can't stay here. They're horrible."

"I know that. I need something to eat... My sugar's low."

"Sugar?"

"Yeah, man. About a year ago...I was diagnosed with diabetes. What...Did you think this thingy was supporting some kind of chemhead habit, man?" she laughed.

"Yes. Yes, I did!" She said, hugging her. Finding this out was a great relief.

"Why'd you come here?"

"This is my fiancé, Jhonen Vasquez. Remember, you read his c-"

"You're getting married to Jhonen Vasquez, bitch! What the fuck! You lucky bitch!" Sin screamed, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"Yes. And I want to move in with him. But I can't without finding a replacement for my roommate, Janice. You want my place?"

"...Are you serious?"

"No, I thought I'd randomly come here and play a joke on you."

"I'd love to, man. That's so fucking awesome. Man, this is like...The coolest day."

"Not really. Mom just spit in his face and called him a spic."

"What? They're so fucked up, man." She said, shaking Jhonen's hand.

"At least you have one reasonable family member." He said, "Now. Let's get out of here. Whatever you want to take, take. I have no intentions of coming back here."

"Jhonen...I have an idea. I don't need to take most of my furniture...Why doesn't she move in today and I'll take whatever I want and stuff from the apartment, and then she can take her stuff, and then later she can get her furniture by whatever means she wants, and I can move in to your place today." She suggested.

"...That sounds awesome." He said, kissing her forehead.

"Yay!" she said.

* * *

Hours later, Jhonen and Alice were lying on the couch watching a movie. He had been complaining through out the day of cold drafts randomly. Sin was moved into her old place, and Janice was not happy. She had no faith in this 'Sin' sister of Alice's.

But Jhonen and Alice, however, were quite content.

"Hey," he said, "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Your parents...How did they raise you?"

"...Not much different from that except they weren't as burned out. They had more energy."

"How did you become such a smart, wonderful person if their child rearing skills sucked?"

"...I learned." She said, "I learned the hard way."

He looked at her face, illuminated by the screen.

"The hard way?" he asked.

"...I'd really rather not talk about it."

"We're going to be married soon. I wish you would tell me more." He said, "I don't want to feel like you're keeping anything from me."

"Why not? You're keeping so much from me."

"Like what?"

"Almost all of the exact same subject that you're insisting I enlighten you on." She said, looking up at him.

"...Fair enough."

"Spill it, Mr. Man." She snickered, pressing her cheek against his chest...


	7. What the FUCK is going on?

AN: So busy lately. I hate high school. I've been spending my weekends with my friends. My days with my school. And my nights with my homework and bed. I'm blowing off my homework to do this, so appreciate it.

_Chapter Seven: What the **FUCK** Is Going On:_

Before Alice could say a word, Jhonen was on the floor, writhing in pain. His head, his body and limbs, all engulfed in violent pain. Those chills were back with a vengeance. He thought he was going to vomit.

"Jhonen? Jhonen, oh god! What's wrong?" she asked, panicking. He never randomly crumbled in pain. Thinking of it, though, who did? "Are you having a heart attack!"

His body collapsed on the floor. He pulled himself onto the couch.

_You want to try to keep me out of your head? You can't! There's no way, Jhonen! Alice was and still is your key, but you went from one extreme to another! In finding her, you've completely given up on completing Johnny's story. He's been trapped in an in-between world of confusion, and prolonged pain. Johnny wanted to get rid of his feelings. Since you've stopped paying attention to him, it's been like an everlasting enema, if you will._

"Why are you doing this to me?" Jhonen hissed.

"...Jhonen? I didn't do anything to y-"

"No! Alice, no. Not you...Him."

She looked around, frightened. There was no one in the room but them. "Ok then..." She said. Maybe this was it. Maybe he was actually going crazy. Would he try to hurt her?

She hoped not.

Maybe he was possessed.

She sighed. Not another one.

"Him who? There's no one here but-"

"Behind you! Move!" he yelled and pulled her out of the way. She picked herself up off the floor and looked in the direction he was staring.

"...Jhonen...What the hell is going on?" she asked upon seeing a painfully thin, gaunt man...That bared a remarkable resemblance to Johnny C.

"...Johnny. Why are you here?"

"You left me in misery, Jhonen. You left me to die in a pool of my own pain."

"I didn't create you to be filled with emo-y goodness, so be clear please." He said, raising an eyebrow.

Alice ducked behind the couch.

"Fine. You came. You changed the things going on around me. Then you left. You left. You left without ever finishing what you started. You never resolved my problems, and now I have to do it for you. It's sickening, really."

"Listen...I know I've been lax in the keeping of a story line. But-"

"NO! No excuses, you florescent-haired fuck! I REFUSE to be subject to this treatment any further. NO!" Johnny yelled, and slowly advanced, "You took something from me. I want something of yours."

"Take whatever you want. Just don't hurt us."

"Us?" he said, finally realizing that Alice was in the room. "Us. I like that word. Hurt sounds good, too. Let's make haste then."

He leapt over the couch and grabbed Alice by the hair. Jhonen froze. If he did something to her...

Johnny backed into the kitchen, her struggling to free herself from his grip the whole way, and grabbed a knife from the block. He held it to her throat and she stilled.

He was having flashbacks of the race up the stairs...The fight for Kaz's life...

When he blacked out and fell down the stairs...

He let Kaz die.

Not again.

"I'll kill you if you hurt her." He said in a dark tone he'd never used before.

"I'm better off dead without an ending. An ending is all I want." He said, "I want something good for a change."

"So you've finally accepted the fact that I control your destiny, not you?" he said, testing.

"Make it so that I do."

"...Fine. Tell me what you want." He said, and gestured for Johnny to follow him. He brought Nny into his room, and showed him his drawing table, paper and supplies.

"See? This is where I made you. Not originally, of course, but you became who you are right here." He said, patting the seat. Then he picked up the last comic, and slipped it out of the plastic envelope.

"This is the last we see of you." He said, opening to the last page. He showed Nny, and as he let Alice go and dropped the knife, he grabbed the book, eagerly. He stared, intently. He remembered. He remembered that night, that last die-ary entry. He remembered the length of time it took for his hair to come back. But...

Something...

He felt a pull...

Jhonen picked the comic up off the floor. He thought so. Johnny had been sucked back into the comic. He looked at the forlorn, distraught expression gracing Nny's face, and decided he'd start tomorrow on an ending. A real one. No open ending where some fan-bot can come in and destroy and taint. Not that they wouldn't try anyway, but hey. Why not try to make it indestructible?

Then he looked at Alice. He was kind of surprised she was still in the general area, and not running away.

_I guess she wants an explanation._ He thought.

She had a right to know the truth.

And in truth, he didn't know why there was an air of shock in the fact she was still sticking around. She'd seen some insane stuff. Granted, this was more insane than most, but she could apparently take it. This led him to the knowledge of one more thing. If she could accept the disturbing things that went on in his life – such as his characters coming to get him – then...

She was perfect.

"Father, I've sinned..." he said, looking at the ceiling and trying to joke.

"So I see." She said in a quiet manner, and smiled, "Since my life was just threatened, can I know why?"

"Ok. No problem." He said, wondering what she might thing of the whole part where the 'Voice of Reason' led him to her in the first place.

This was going to be a long, long night...


	8. A Serious Explanation

AN: I've been on huge techno binge lately. I'm such a weirdo! No wonder I have no boyfriend! Jesus! Anywho...I don't know how much Johnny we get to see from here on in, it's a lot of Jhonen – Alice type stuff but Johnny gets mentioned a lot...etc...You get the idea. He's there in spirit lol ok so here we go...**any ideas **from here on in would be **great** but I've been working on this for a while I'd like to limit the story to 10 chapters, it's original, Summer Colors, wasn't even this long. This chapters kind of short, though. Sorry guys. Please, please, **_please_** give me some inspiration for this. I am SO stuck! PLEASE!

_Chapter Eight: A Serious Explanation:_

Jhonen took Alice to the couch, trembling. How on Earth could there be an explanation for anything that went on here? A rational one, at least. There wasn't, there just was no way to explain it all away.

She sat, facing him, and he facing her. He took his glasses off, and rubbed his face.

"Alright. I'm going to try to go through the sequence of events briefly." He said.

"Then we can continue our conversation from before?" she said, "I'd love to know what this is all about, but I'm just as interested in the previous topic of conversation."

"Dammit."

She giggled. "Did you think you'd get away with it?"

"Kind of." He said, half smiling, "Ok. Let's go. As you may or may not know, I was a pretty lonely dude before."

"I got that impression." She said, smirking.

He squinted his dark eyes at her, and raised an eyebrow. "ANYWAY, I guess "God" didn't like that, so a little 'angel' thing was sent down to my head into a dimension of freaked out I've never experienced before, EVER. But before he came into play, I fell asleep, and woke up at Nny's."

"...You...Woke up at Nny's?" she asked, blinking. She wasn't completely sure she heard that right, or if she took it right.

"Yes. I woke up, and he gave me my glasses back. He'd taken them off my face. We went out for Brain Freezy's, and I met this girl..." he said, pausing and glancing up at her to see her reaction. She seemed unaffected, which kind of hurt. One would think she'd be more interested in his past love life. "And Johnny killed her, and I flipped out and fell asleep again and woke up back here. And there was this voice that just kept saying go to the mall. And as much as I hate the mall, I couldn't disobey. And it led me to you."

There was a sort of long, awkward silence that they weren't used to. She asked a few small questions, and stared into space while he filled in the details. Then more silence.

"...Alice?" he whispered. It was hushed in the room, he was almost afraid to break the sound barrier.

She looked up at him. She looked like she'd gotten...Slapped or something. "So...Did your voice ask me to marry you, or did you?"

"That voice is long gone, it left shortly before I met you. Right after I woke up."

"...Ok." she said. He could tell she was trying desperately to accept this with an open mind. She probably thought he was absolutely insane.

"Alice, look... We...I...You..." he stumbled, trying to form a sentence. He took a deep breath. "We're an 'us'. We've been an 'us' pretty much since we met. I haven't felt so complete in so long. Johnny came to bother me because he wanted that same completeness. He wanted an ending. I'm going to give him something hopeful."

"Do you even know what hopeful is?" she whispered, bringing her knees to her chest.

"You said you'd be understanding, Alice! This isn't fair."

"Neither is the fact that you came into my life via psychotic episode!" she said, furrowing her eyebrows.

He reached out and rubbed her forehead. "I hate it when you do that."

She pouted, and he laughed, quietly, trying to hide it.

"And just what is so funny?" she said, her lip quivering.

"You're too cute." He said. _That was a really, really mushy thing to say. Thank whatever god's listening that no ones in here with us._

She smiled. "Do you still love me?"

He gasped. "Of course! I'll always love you!" he said, and picked her small frame up and into his lap.

"Now...Onto the previous conversation, before we were so rudely interrupted." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"But-"

"No! Jhonen! You promised!"

He sighed. There was no way out of this one. "C'mon, Alice-"

"Jhonen!" she said, raising her eyebrows as though she were disciplining a puppy. He shrunk down, and laid on the couch as before, her laying on his chest, in the glow of the television.

"Ok..."

"Yes! Finally!"

"Just don't think you're going to get away with not giving me your story here, ok? I get that they're disgusting people, but what did they do to you? I want a couple answers here." He said, "Answer my questions, and I'll tell you my story."

"You first, mister."

He sighed.

"Of course. How silly of me, to not obey my mistress like that." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey! Keep making comments, sir. You're going to be sleeping in a cage."

Jhonen blinked. "Ok then."

"Hehe." She smirked and snuggled into him. It felt good to have her in his arms, especially without complications, like Johnny. And the angel. And Kaz.

"Ok...Here we go." He said, taking a deep breath.


	9. The Color Forgotten

AN: Thank you, onlytomriddle, for the idea. But to kill Jhonen is committing a very final act. Finality frightens me. And please don't remind me how disgustingly out of character Mr. Vasquez is...Lest I shoot myself in the foot as punishment. This is the last chapter.

_Chapter Nine: The Color Forgotten...:_

After they each had spoke of their stories and answered mutual questions, Jhonen and Alice sat in silence.

"Jhonen?" Alice whispered.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." She said, and cuddled into him.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said back, and held her tightly.

It was late.

"Why don't you go to bed?" he said, lifting her chin.

She gave him a kiss. "Are you coming?"

"Soon. I'll be there soon."

"Ok." She said, and kissed him and walked into the bedroom.

He watched her close the door, and went into his office. There was a cot. But he wouldn't sleep there. Not tonight. Tonight, he would sleep with Alice.

He would comfort her and make sure she wasn't afraid or alone. Not that she'd been alone, but still. It was probably the boyfriend syndrome. He assumed something along the lines of "PROTECT! PRESERVE! KILL!" or some testosterone-fueled mindset like that.

He looked at his other drawing board, the one in his 'official' office. The separate one from his bedroom desk.

_Johnny...There's so much you need to know still._

He was tired. He was very tired.

It was almost two-thirty in the morning. And he did not want to sleep. At all.

In fact, he wondered what conception of his would come back to haunt him next. Devi? Squee? The fucking Filler Bunny, who of all of them, would have the most right in destroying his existence since Jhonen made his hell worse than all of them.

Why did he do things like that?

Who knew?

Jhonen did. He knew for a fact that everything he created, everything he wanted for his characters, everything he lived for in this city, and everything he went through in youth, were all related, and they were all portrayed.

In fact, since he'd met Alice, he hadn't felt the need to really vent or...how he hated putting it this way...Stand on a soap box and rant about anything.

He was just...He was peaceful.

He wanted to go back to the beach tomorrow. After all, it was summer.

Some things about him, however, wouldn't change. Like how he wished his world was like that of a fantasy land like in many animes and video games he watched and played. That's what the world needs. Something to take away from the ordinary. Something that would distract people, and make them think about other things. Supernatural, magical, mystical. Something completely apart from the mundane.

But this was Earth.

And this was America.

And this was California.

And this was Los Angeles.

And this was his nice apartment in the city.

He sighed and looked out the window.

The city lights were spectacular. The moon was out. The stars burned brightly.

Everything he needed, however, was right here, right here in this world, right here in this dimension.

And that's how he liked it.

He leaned against the window pane, and smiled.

"Late summer evenings, I painted a scene," he sang, happily, "Of the mountains afar, and the color of screams..."

**THE END.**


	10. Thanks

Now, through this whole thing, I would like to thank you all for your reviews. **_Summer Colors_** was an absolute success, and I know that November Air came nowhere near that lol so for that I'm sorry.

Don't forget to review!

It's what keeps me going...Unfortunately.

I'll be in the future with more bad ideas.

Thanks.

-Jen


End file.
